The Korean National Police Agency said on the 24th that it will launch a second distribution program for pedal misoperation prevention devices for older drivers in partnership with the General Insurance Association of Korea and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (TS). A pedal misoperation prevention device is a safety device that controls sudden acceleration that can occur while stopped or driving at low speed.
The Korean National Police Agency, the General Insurance Association of Korea, and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (TS) first supplied pedal misoperation prevention devices free of charge to 141 people in Apr. this year. From Jul. to Sep., a total of 71 suspected cases of abnormal acceleration related to pedal misoperation were identified over three months, and analysis found the device blocked all of them.
The second program is scheduled to begin on Dec. 1 for 730 older drivers nationwide. Applicants can submit the application form, driver's license, vehicle registration, and other required documents by mail or in person to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (TS) regional office near their residence.
Traffic accidents caused by older drivers continue to rise. According to the Korea Road Traffic Authority (KOROAD) Traffic Accident Analysis System (TASS), traffic accidents caused by drivers age 65 or older increased from 34,652 cases in 2022 (17.6% of all traffic accidents) to 39,614 cases in 2023 (20.0%) and 42,369 cases last year (21.6%). Corresponding fatalities also increased from 735 in 2022 → 745 in 2023 → 761 in 2024.